​I'm just going to warn you now: the 3rd and final bean recipe I have to share is for brownies. Yes, brownies. So you're going to want to keep reading this until the end.

​So the whole point of this 3-recipes-a-week resolution was to try new things, spice up our predictable rotation of pizza and enchiladas and quesadillas for dinner each week (yes, seriously, and yes, embarrassing) and to try new things.

Which brings me to this: dried beans are a new thing for me.

I've been intrigued with dried beans for years. Stared at them for years in canisters on my mom's French canning rack. Researched them but have still been intimidated by them for years. Maybe it's that whole soaking-overnight thing? Seems rather high maintenance for a dirt-cheap nutrition-packed super food. So in order to sidestep the not even difficult part about soaking beans, I simply found a recipe that specifically told me that I didn't need to soak the beans.

Thank you, Deb, from Smitten Kitchen, for proving yet again that you know, well, pretty much everything. And I quote: "You can soak your beans but there's no need to." And then later she says (as if she can read my somewhat skeptical mind): "This recipe doesn't call for or require pre-soaking."

The recipe: Three-Bean Chili from Smitten Kitchen. The not-presoaked dried beans (kidney and black, in my case) cooked to perfect tenderness, and this vegetarian chili was so easy and hearty and just plain great comfort food.

Well, I couldn't stop at just one chili recipe (mainly because I had half of the bags of dried beans calling to me in the pantry waiting to be used again). So, I found another vegetarian slow-cooker chili recipe, this one from the blog Clean Green Simple, and we had chili again the next week.

I have to admit I took several liberties with this chili recipe. . . instead of fresh tomatoes, I used a 28-oz can of diced tomatoes with the juice. I also added mushrooms because I had them and needed to use them (as in, use them very very soon before they got slimy and gross) and this seemed like a perfect opportunity. Again, not-presoaked dried beans, cooked to perfection in a slow cooker. Dried beans are no longer intimidating!​

​​Ok, you've read this far. Made it through two chili recipes. And as promised, now I get to tell you about brownies. And not just any brownies, but brownies made with beans.

Yes, beans. I have my cousin to thank for opening my dessert world to this incredible flour-free pan of moist and decadent chocolate goodness. And it couldn't be simpler.

Drumroll, please: Black Bean Brownies!You literally dump everything in a food processor, whir it into a batter in which you can't tell the difference (I swear) between "bean" and "cocoa powder." And then bake it to perfection.

Now, being the completely brilliant baker that she is, I must share my cousin's totally incredible edit to this recipe. She made the recipe as-is, and the result was a dense and incredibly fudge-y brownie. When she made it a second time (and this is what I did when I got around to making these brownies), she added 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda. The result: a cakier, fluffier, lighter brownie (that didn't lose any of the chocolate punch it had before).

But seriously. MAKE THESE BROWNIES. I added walnuts, garnished them with powdered sugar, and the next night drizzled them (ok, more like generously smeared them) with chocolate sauce sprinkled (again, rather generously) with sweetened coconut. My mom made these yesterday and added chocolate chips.

I cracked up at the "drumroll".... You are too funny...I love that you are having so much fun writing about your cooking adventures. I want more people to read about your "adventures" so am going to send some of my friends links to your blog. You really should become a writer....:):):). The brownies were awaking - I was doubtful when I dumped that drained can of black beans into the food processor and was quite prepared to spit out the taste of the dough...they are really good!!!! Would be fun to try to make ice cream sandwiches with the fudgier version - the dough seems dense enough to hold up to being sliced in half and putting a layer of ice in the middle. Fun to read your blogs...😊😊😊😊😊

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Sarah C.

﻿Hi! I'm the creator of Pot Belly Bird, hailing from Spokane, WA. Here in my blog, I'll tell you about all the fun stuff I'm up to in addition to making cards, like cooking or biking or gardening!﻿